With processing equipment used to effect a processing operation on a workpiece, it is sometimes necessary to provide supplementary support for the processing tool. For example, in a milling apparatus, where the milling cutter has an extended length for insertion into a hole or cavity in the workpiece, the cutter will have a tendency to vibrate and bend if not properly supported. In certain circumstances, however, proper support of the tool is not readily available. This is particularly true where the processing operation requires that the tool be supported at its free end internally of the workpiece. The problems of fully supporting such a tool are compounded where the cutting tool is disposed at a working station and successive workpieces are to be indexed into and out of a working station. With this type of equipment, it is further necessary that the internal support for the tool be provided after the workpiece is moved into the working station and that it be removed prior to indexing the workpieces out of the working station.
In the past, processing equipment such as boring and milling machines have been provided with outboard supports for supporting a boring bar or cutter from the other side of the hole that is being surfaced. These outboard supports may conventionally consist of a center or journal in which an arbor that holds the cutter is supported. With these types of construction, however, it is necessary to manually attach and remove the outboard support structure before and after each processing operation. These machines are quite specialized in their function and the additional support which is required together with the time element involved in connecting and disconnecting the support adds to the overall cost of the workpiece processing operation.